Aloe, aloe!

[Hendejm]

Hrmn, the weight of 100gm of water is the same whether it is frozen or liquid, right? It's just the volume that increases... or maybe I'm confused. I'm probably confused.

It’s called sublimation - it’s how a frost free freezer works and prevents ice build up in your freezer. It blows air around your freezer compartment and the water moves from a solid to a gas - bypassing the water stage. As the air is blown over any ice (or ice like substance - it evaporates the water to a gas state and then it is heated back to a liquid state at the bottom of via a heating element in your fridge/freezer and evaporated across evaporator coils or a drip pan. Everything in your freezer would eventually “dry out” as a result - if left long enough.

 

[DeeAnna]

Weight is weight is weight. If you weigh 100 grams of liquid aloe, it should weigh 100 grams when frozen. It might expand as it freezes, so the volume changes, but the weight won't change, unless you somehow do something to lose or add some of the aloe.

 

[Hendejm]

Weight is weight is weight. If you weigh 100 grams of liquid aloe, it should weigh 100 grams when frozen. It might expand as it freezes, so the volume changes, but the weight won't change, unless you somehow do something to lose or add some of the aloe.

This is the scientific explanation on why liquid does not stay at the same constant weight when frozen. You may have noticed that your ice cubes in the freezer sometimes seem smaller - it’s because of sublimation. They evaporate - similar to freezer burn on food if not vacuum sealed.
http://www.edinformatics.com/math_science/does_ice_evaporate.htm

Think of anything that’s been freeze dried - it’s sublimation at work. In the case of the Aloa Vera - All of the aloa will still be there - it’s the water that “evaporates” thus having less weight when weighing at a later date.

 

[reeeen4]

Ah ok course, I had done reading before on DIY freeze drying in a normal freezer and I had read about sublimation! thanks for that very informative!

 

[midnightsoaper]

ok now does it need to be frozen when using it or just out of the bottle room temp?

I didn't want the hassle of using anything frozen (because I just don't think that far ahead lol) so I used the aloe at fridge temp (well, a little higher, 52F). I didn't have any trouble....no odd smells or colors. The lye solution did go a little yellow, but the aloe juice itself has some color, so that was expected. It did have some floaties in it that later dissolved, no need to strain (I made it the night before I used it). Here's the soap (no color/fragrance).

 

[Hendejm]

I didn't want the hassle of using anything frozen (because I just don't think that far ahead lol) so I used the aloe at fridge temp (well, a little higher, 52F). I didn't have any trouble....no odd smells or colors. The lye solution did go a little yellow, but the aloe juice itself has some color, so that was expected. It did have some floaties in it that later dissolved, no need to strain (I made it the night before I used it). Here's the soap (no color/fragrance).
View attachment 37223

Very Nice! How’d you make those intersecting crop circles? I love that!

 

[midnightsoaper]

With a little plastic medicine cup It was a little thick when I did it, it works much better when the batter is thinner. It's called an inverted stamp.

 

[Alfa_Lazcares]

I have a couple of plants so I use the real stuff, no additives added. I also freeze it for easy storage. I honestly dont see much if any difference between aloe soaps and plain water soaps, but i use it because i have it. I use it for 100% of the water.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Very Nice! How’d you make those intersecting crop circles? I love that!

Keep up @Hendejm! That's called an inverted stamp!

 

[KiwiMoose]

So whats' the diff between the juice and the gel? Just nominal?

 

[Alfa_Lazcares]

I would think the process. For the gel direct from the plant you just scrape it and blend it and its suuuuuper goey, like mucus, but the store bought is liquid, so for starters i would think is diluted and with some things added, like sugars and flavors and colors cause the stuff from the plant starts transparent and then becomes green. Of course this is just me speculating ha!

 

[Dawni]

So whats' the diff between the juice and the gel? Just nominal?

If I remember correct the gel is from inside the leaves and the juice is from the outside leaf skin (my words). The juice was primarily made for drinking and the gel to be applied to skin. As far as I know both are beneficial to skin and hair.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong lol

 

[reeeen4]

Aloe Vera gel is the fleshy part from inside the leave that's used topically, Aloe Vera Juice is the same thing but it's filtered, watered down and processed to make it safe to consume. The skin of the Aloe Vera plant has a yellow goo that is a digestive irritant and has a laxative effect. So it depends on what you want to do with it, gel is probably the best for soap making since you don't want to waste money on the extra cost of processing and paying for water that's been used to water down the final product to make it more drinkable, your just getting the pure gel.

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

I didn't want the hassle of using anything frozen (because I just don't think that far ahead lol) so I used the aloe at fridge temp (well, a little higher, 52F). I didn't have any trouble....no odd smells or colors. The lye solution did go a little yellow, but the aloe juice itself has some color, so that was expected. It did have some floaties in it that later dissolved, no need to strain (I made it the night before I used it). Here's the soap (no color/fragrance).
View attachment 37223

thank you!!! pretty bar!!!

 

[penelopejane]

Very Nice! How’d you make those intersecting crop circles? I love that!

I did it in the SMF jan challenge.
See Auntie Clara’s blog on how to do it. I use plastic coated gardening wire from the hardware shop. It is thin and flexible and cheap.
https://auntieclaras.com/2014/04/tutorial-inverted-stamp-technique-lattice-tops-more/

 

[penelopejane]

So whats' the diff between the juice and the gel? Just nominal?

Check the price of powder. I buy 200:1 strength powder and it works out much cheaper than aloe juice and it is pure.
You can get additive free aloe juice.

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

Check the price of powder. I buy 200:1 strength powder and it works out much cheaper than aloe juice and it is pure.
You can get additive free aloe juice.

what about using 100% gel and diluting it. I use that a lot in my lotion

 

[Clarice]

Check the price of powder. I buy 200:1 strength powder and it works out much cheaper than aloe juice and it is pure.

Hi @penelopejane! Tell me more! How do you use it? At 200:1 concentration it would seem like you would need just a tiny bit! And could you tell me where you purchase it? I like the idea of a powder that won't go "off" with age.

Thank you!

 

[beckster51]

Don't misunderstand this post, please, but there have been studies that show that the liquid aloe that we buy at Walmart/Walgreens, etc, is not actually aloe, but does contain sugars. The rest is water. So I gave up on using aloe in soap since most of the aloe I have access to is not true aloe. I am curious about the powder now, and certainly if you grow your own, you are going to get aloe. Perhaps the sugar increases bubbles and not the aloe? I'm curious about your reactions to this.

 

[earlene]

I believe that the weight difference is due to evaporation. Even in the freezer, my ice cubes get smaller over time when left to sit unused. Don't yours? Try it some time. Even when inside a plastic bag, frozen aloe (frozen anything that contains water) will have some water loss. Otherwise you wouldn't see those bits of crystals building up inside the baggie.